


Something That I Want

by Fangirlingmanaged



Series: The Soundtrack of our Lives [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Be patient, Disney Songs, Fluff, M/M, SUPER CHEESY, Superfamily, Superhusbands, slight angst, so.much.fluff!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-16
Updated: 2013-10-19
Packaged: 2017-12-29 13:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1006225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirlingmanaged/pseuds/Fangirlingmanaged
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve neglects to call Tony for an Assemble, making the genius doubt his part in the initiative. In the battle, Peter gets turned into a three year old and Steve must take care of him. Fluffiness and crack ensues when two stubborn idiots try to profess their love through Disney Songs</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part of Your World

**Author's Note:**

> i just really needed something to cheer me up. Comments are appreciated! You might get more Stony and maybe some Johnlock, yeah! :D

Tony had been in the workshop for about three days, now. It wasn’t one of his worst benders, if he did say so himself. He’d eaten, Steve had kind of made it a habit to bring him food, and he’d slept on the pull out couch for about three hours (Cap had given up on trying to get him to keep normal hours.) So, he was on his sixth cup of coffee of the day and had been hitting it off with AC/DC and the chest plate of his armor for the past 4 hours. Not his worst bender, there was the impressing one of ’94… Anyway, there was no way Tony should be getting hallucinations right now (he had them occasionally when he was a whole week down there, okay? He was a genius, not superhuman, though he probably should look into that one of these days.) No hallucinations, not after only three days, yet that’s the only explanation to what he was seeing at the moment. There was a person standing next to where he was sitting. Not only a person, but a very small person with big curious eyes who was looking up at him with a smile that made Tony feel as if he were the center of this very small person’s world.

Tony blinked, shook his head, and then proceeded to look around the workshop. There wasn’t anyone there, just the chest plate he’d been working on, Dummy, You, and himself. So, rightfully so he might add, he said the only thing that came to mind. “Who the fuck are you?” He exclaimed, at exactly the wrong moment as Steve was making his way into the workshop with a very hurried look about him.

“Tony!” the super soldier exclaimed. “Don’t talk to him that way! He didn’t know what he was doing!” 

Tony blinked his tired and confused eyes, his brain really wasn’t up for this at the moment, and then his jaw dropped. The little person had started sniffling after his outburst, and now Steve was crouching in front of him and brushing his hair back. He was making those annoying noises parents made when they were trying to stop their kids from crying. The super soldier proceeded to give Tony a look that basically said “Fix this, and do it now!”

Tony raised an eyebrow, “Yes, mother,” before he cautiously approached the small person. He brought himself down on one knee (God he really wasn’t twenty-six anymore) and awkwardly patted the kid’s head as he would do a dog’s. “Sorry, little man. You startled me, not used to having company.”

The small person, Jesus he really needed to stop calling him that looked up at him with those big brown eyes filled with tears. If those eyes didn’t make him feel like shit he didn’t know what would (okay, he did, Steve’s puppy eyes totally made him weaker. Shut up, have you seen them? They’re dan-ge-rous.) “Sorry I came in. Daddy say I’m not s’pposed to do that,” the little boy had the speech deficiency of most three year olds. 

“It’s okay; just… let me know you're here. Things are dangerous around, okay?” Tony forced a smile that he hoped wouldn’t freak the kid out. Steve was already mad at him for making the little thing cry. 

“Okay, mister” and damn if that didn’t make him feel old. He looked up to find Steve biting his lip to keep his mirth quiet; Tony narrowed his eyes at the super soldier and huffed. 

“Steve, what is this little person doing in my lab?” 

“He, uh, well…” Tony had never seen Steve fidget like that. Something told him that he was so not going to like the answer to his question. “We had a call yesterday, and Peter came with us and... Tony? Are you listening to me?” Tony had straightened from his crouch and was now simmering silently with rage. He had enough wits about him to know he shouldn’t get angry in front of an impressionable three year old, but he really wanted to pound Steve at the moment. 

“You had a call, or did the Avengers get a call?” Tony said evenly, trying to catch Steve’s eye but the super soldier was trying his best to prevent it.  
“Well, um, you were d-down here… and, I told them… well you l-looked busy and…” Steve put the little person in his arms and straightened, looking panicked. And he damn well better be panicked, a little voice in Tony’s head snarled.

“You went on a mission without me? You know I'm part of the Avengers, right? Like Fury fucking informed the rest of you of that right?” The little person’s eyes widened when Tony cussed, and his little hand shot up to grip Steve’s shirt collar. Tony grimaced at himself; he was scaring the poor kid.

“Tony, look, we just thought—“ 

“I don’t give a damn what you thought. I’m part of the Avengers, you get a call, you should have goddamn called me!” When Steve looked like he might argue, Tony made a motion with his hand that shut him up quick. “Get the kid, who I assume is Peter and goddamn I fucking hate magic, out of here before I scare him more than I already have,” Steve’s eyebrows furrowed in concern at Tony, but he didn’t press the issue. Instead he moved towards the door, but Tony called back to him“Oh, and Steve? If I'm not enough for the team, then you can just tell Fury that, you know? You're his golden boy after all.”

He heard Steve’s sharp inhale of breath, but he turned back to his armor before the other man could say anything. With a small hesitation, Steve left the workshop, and Tony, alone. The engineer stared mindlessly at the chest plate in front of him, no idea of what he’d been doing before the little person, and then moved towards his kitchenette. Scotch sounded good at the moment.  
***  
Tony didn’t see Steve, or any of the other Avengers for that matter, for the next two weeks. It seemed like he had been avoiding them as much as they’d been avoiding him, which suited him just fine. They didn’t even call him for a mission? Fuck that, he didn’t need them anyways. SI was consuming enough of his time; he couldn’t spare any to the hurt he absolutely wasn’t feeling at what he considered a betrayal to himself. Then, he got a call from Pepper that they needed him in California, and she didn’t know when he’d be back. He sighed, mulling it over in his head, stay in New York with a bunch of people who obviously didn’t need him or find out what was wrong with his company? Both options sucked, but only one of them actually hurt him. So he agreed to leave to do whatever was necessary, he called a meeting with Fury and his so called team first, though. 

“Stark wants to give you all some news, personally I advised against it but I’m not his goddamn babysitter so,” Fury motioned for him to proceed.

He was standing at the head of the conference room’s table; wearing a well tailored suit, his converse trainers, and the pair of sunglasses he liked the most. His posture wouldn’t give away how much what he was about to say bothered him, but inside he was seething. Not only with anger, but also with hurt. Sure, he wasn’t a team player, but he liked this team, and he’d thought they liked him too. He’d tailored each of the upper floors for each one of them, created an amazing communal area and gym; he’d tried so hard to make them like him. Fuck it, he thinks, and throws his shoulders back. 

“Well, I’ll be brief since I'm sure you all have other things to get to,” his eyes roamed through each one of their faces. Coulson, Widow and Hawkeye were as stoic as always, Bruce merely looked curious, but Steve’s eyebrows were furrowed. He knew damn well what was coming. Well, too damn bad. “SI needs my personal attention in the west coast, Peppers says I definitely can’t get out of it, and that she doesn’t know how long it’ll take. Until the matter is resolved, I'm on voluntary benching for the team.” 

The reactions around the table were more or less what he expected. Widow raised a questioning eyebrow, Hawk’s mouth was slightly open, and Bruce looked at Tony with concern while Steve merely bit his lip and looked down at his hands. Tony tried not to let it get to him, wouldn’t be the first time he’d had to play the asshole, but his hands instinctively curled into fists. 

“Obviously,” and Tony tried not to sound too bitter at what he was saying. “The team doesn’t need me as I thought it might. I figured, hell, why waste my time here while the company’s having trouble? It might be a matter of days, it may not, or I might decide to stay in Malibu and work from there. Either way, I’ll let Supernanny know and he’ll contact you. Fury?”

“Are you done? Figured you’d have more to say,” Fury’s one eye seriously saw too much sometimes. Something told Tony the director knew /exactly/ why he was leaving. Not that the engineer gave a damn, whatever they thought from now on wouldn’t be a concern of his. So, he merely shrugged. Fury was about to adjourn when the widow spoke up. 

“What makes you think we won’t need you?”

Tony tried not to snort too derisively, but Nat’s raised eyebrow told him he hadn’t succeeded. “You’ve proven that already haven’t you?” she didn’t look away, not that he expected her too, but she seemed to deflate. Her shoulders were just a little slumped. “Any other questions? No? Good, see you kids around.” and with that Tony strode out the meeting room leaving a stunned, heady silence behind him.  
***  
“Well, that went well,” Fury commented as he leaned against the table and looked contemptuously at each one of them. Steve knew damn well they’d messed up by leaving Tony behind. He’d known when he’d given the order, but he’d still gone ahead with the plan.

He’d been selfish; wanting to avoid Tony’s kidding but loud protestations about leaving the workshop. He’d wanted to avoid that problem, and it seemed he’d cause another one about a million times worse. Not only had Peter been hit with a regression thing, and now had no memories of who they were, but he’d also run Tony off his tower.

He sighed heavily and slumped in his chair, trying not to look at the door Tony had gone through. It ate at him to know he’d made Tony that angry, and worse of all that hurt, enough to make him run out of the tower.

“Maybe I should talk to him,” he muttered to the team. Bruce shook his head.

“Nothing you say will help him in the mood he’s in,” he took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. If anyone knew Tony, more than Steve at least, it was Bruce. Tony had deemed them the Science Bros; they spent the majority of their benders together unless they thought some project needed most of their attention. “Pepper might be able to convince him to come back.”

At the other side of Bruce, Clint snorted at them. “If she doesn’t kill you first. You know how damn protective she is of him, now even more than when they were together. Just be prepared for her phone call later,” he directed his words at Steve. Obviously.

In the months since their assembly, Steve and Tony had gotten closer and closer to each other. They spent some days down at the gym or time in Tony’s workshop where Steve lifted the heavy stuff or sketched, and some nights when insomnia hit them both hard they spent time in the den watching movies. Steve didn’t know when it happened, but slowly he’d come to recognize he didn’t like Tony as just a friend. Sure the companionability was nice, but Tony and Steve just… fit together. One abrasive and the other calm. One impulsive and the other level headed. They were like the ying and yang, in harmony with each other. And now Steve had driven him away.

The super soldier spent the rest of the day in a daze, and he didn’t come out of it until he was pulled into the den by a very determined three year old. He’d forgotten all about the small tradition they’d created for their resident child. Since Peter couldn’t remember much, and he wasn’t easily entertained, their other child (Clint) thought it was a good idea to introduce him to Disney movies. The kid was obsessed with them now. 

“Okay, buddy, what’s on today?” he asked the kid as they sat themselves in the couch. Peter wormed his way into Steve’s side.

The super soldier didn’t know how, but little Peter had slowly burrowed his way into Steve’s heart. He’d never thought of himself as a father, but Peter had taken such a like to him that now they were virtually inseparable. Steve asked JARVIS to play the Lion King as he tightened his arms around the little boy. When the part where Mufasa tells Simba about his inheritance, Peter pulled away from Steve with a frown on his face.

“Steve?” the super soldier didn’t like that tone, worried and sad. He asked the AI to stop the movie and turned his whole attention to Peter. “Where’s the mister?” Steve’s heart wrenched sideways at the question. 

“Tony’s away on business for now, buddy,” he told the boy softly, Peter seemed to deflate even more. He had no idea how, but Peter seemed to really care about Tony. It might be that Peter had some of his memories, about Tony helping him create stuff like a father would his son, or it might be the nights were Tony sneaked into Peter’s room and calmed him down from his nightmares. In the two weeks since Peter’s regression, Tony had avoided the rest of the Avengers like the plague, but Clint had informed him of Tony and the little boy’s nightly escapades. Peter still called him mister, though, because he didn’t spend nearly as much time with him as he did with the others. 

“When he come back?” 

“I… I really don’t know, kiddo,” he mussed the little boy’s hair. Peter looked on the verge of tears, and it hit Steve even harder. He hadn’t just (possibly) broken Tony, he’d also hurt a three year old. Way to go, Captain America, he thought bitterly to himself. 

“Can we… can I… call him? With his video thingy?” Peter begged Steve, turning on him the full power of his baby eyes. 

All Steve could say was, “JARVIS?”

***  
Tony had been done with whatever it was he had to do after about an hour of his arrival. Turns out, Pepper had just been exaggerating when she told him she didn’t know how long it’d take. She just wanted to berate him for not telling Steve how he truly felt. He’d known about three months after their meeting that he was fucked. The captain wasn’t only what Howard had proclaimed him to be, but he was so much more. And he, for some inexplicable reason, seemed to like him too. At least when the Avengers weren't concerned. 

“Pep… Pepper! Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepp!” he screamed, turning in his office chair like a little kid. The thought sent a pang through Tony, he missed that little bugger. The kid seemed to have as much trouble sleeping as he did. In the past two weeks, Tony had spent almost every night with the kid. The first one had been to apologize for his behavior when they’d met, he didn’t want to turn into his father after all, so he went into the little boy’s room and they’d talked it out.

After that, well, Tony just seemed to be drawn to the child. Plus, Peter didn’t seem to mind him all that much. So they talked, and they played and built things, the little boy had even roped him into watching children’s movies. He seemed to like the musicals, with The Lion King and The Jungle Book as a couple of his favorites. Tony sighed again, he missed the tower already but damned if he was going back.

“Tony! Enough! Go back already!” Pepper all but screeched at him as she made her way into his office. He was on his third shot of whiskey so he didn’t even flinch at her loud voice, she glared daggers at him. 

“I can’t go back yet, see, I kind of told them I might stay here. You know, permanently,” he gave her a pained smile.

She looked at the ceiling, she did that quite often he mused to himself, and then glared at him again. “You're such an idiot, why don’t you just tell him?”

Whatever excuse tony was about to make was cut off by Highway to Hell as his phone got a call. He raised an eyebrow at Pepper, who would be calling him? Rhodey wasn’t even allowed to use a phone, and Pepper was right in front of him. the only one who could be calling him would be…

“JARVIS?”

“Captain Rogers’s video calling you, sir.”

“Well, I’ll be damned” he couldn’t help the stupid grin that lit up his face. Pepper just shook her head, rolled her eyes, and smiled fondly before walking out again. Tony locked down his office and asked Jarvis to blow up the holographic screen on his desk and connect the call. “Captain,” he answered, smoothing the joy that threatened to break free. 

“Tony! Hi!” Steve smiled at him, that sunny grin lighting up his whole face. God, Tony loved that face. He allowed himself a small smile.  
“Why you calling me, Cap? Trouble at the tower?” Tony really didn’t mean for that to come out as bitter as it did. 

“Tony…” Steve sighed, the happiness in his eyes dulling a little bit. “I’m sorry, okay? I just… come home, and we’ll talk about it, okay? I need to… I need to tell you something.”

“Fine,” Tony didn’t want to pick a fight with the super soldier, so he just nodded. “So, what’s up, Cap? Can’t sleep?” It wouldn’t be the first time Steve needed the genius’s help sleeping, and Tony didn’t really mind. He thought he’d pretty much crawl on glass for the other man. He was so far gone… and turning into a teenage girl apparently. 

“No, nothing like that. It’s just—“he was cut off as a small hand pushed his face away. 

“Hi, mister!” Peter’s smiling face filled Tony’s whole screen. The genius laughed out loud, the little boy was so damn enthusiastic. 

“Hey, Pete! How you doing, little bugger?” he asked fondly. Two weeks, and he was so far gone. God, what were these people doing to him?

“Fine, Cappa and me is watchin’ Simba!” he said enthusiastically, and then proceeded to roar like the mightiest of lions. Tony could see Steve behind Tony, looking stunned.

“Cappa, huh, Pete?” the little boy seemed to realize his slip and he blushed. Before he could stammer an excuse, or God forbid, an apology, Tony smiled at him. “I think it suits him, maybe I should start calling him that now. What you think, Cappa?”

Steve laughed, and shook his head good naturally at them. “Cappa sounds just fine,” and the look he gave Tony promised so many things, things Tony had only dreamed about, and suddenly he really wanted to get back to New York. Whatever Tony might have said was cut off by Peter’s reason for calling.

“When you comin’ home, mister?” 

“I don’t know, Pete. A couple days, maybe. I… I need some time to think,” Tony could see Steve’s worried frown. And the way his brawny arms tightened around the little boy. “I’ll bring you something, okay?”

“Yeah, ‘kay,” the little boy murmured, clearly defeated. Tony hated himself for disappointing him, but he had to. Steve may or may not be willing to try, but… not being called for something as important as an Avengers mission still stung. More than he thought it would. So he just tried to reassure the little boy with his smile.

“Look, buddy, it’s late. Maybe you should go to sleep, yeah? You can call me tomorrow,” Peter’s eyes lit up so fast Tony had to laugh again. The little boy agreed quickly enough, then gave Steve a quick hug goodnight and, looking shy, turned towards the camera. “Goodnight… Tony,” and then darted out of view.

Tony sat there in stunned silence, while Steve laughed at the little boy’s antics. “Guess we’ll see you tomorrow?” the super soldier questioned, looking concerned again.

“Yeah, /Cappa,/ talk to you tomorrow,” Tony grinned when Steve blushed. “Good night, Steve.”

“Good night, Tony. I-I miss you,” the man on the other end blushed even more, and then hung up. Leaving Tony speechless and staring at a blue screen. A few more days, he promised himself, and then he’ll figure things out. The lurching in his chest seemed to tell him he already had his answer.


	2. When Will my Reflection Show Who I Am Inside?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony comes to a decision, of course, he still has doubts. Guess he'd have to wait for Steve to tell him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so here's the first song, I thought it quiet fit Tony, but i don't know :) Depending on how this chapter and the next work out I'll continue this little fluff fest. Enjoy!

Tony had been in Malibu for about three weeks when he thought it might be about time to get back to New York. He’d stayed so long mostly out of stubbornness because while his presence was required for meetings and the like most days, he’d never really bothered to attend them. In the past three weeks he’d done everything from attending meetings, to creating a new type of StarkPad that was positively going to revolutionize the world, talking with some of his lower officials in the R&D department, and driving Pepper slowly mad.

Now, standing in front of the mirror in the expensive hotel’s suite bathroom, he started thinking that maybe he ought to go back. He missed his little bugger a lot, even with only two weeks of interaction it seemed like Peter had already made a home in his heart. Feeling melancholy, he asked JARVIS to play the music playlist he’d named after Peter. It was comprised of songs from Disney movies; it was the thing that reminded Tony the most about the little boy.

He missed Steve terribly as well, they hadn’t gone so long without really seeing each other for so long, and while they weren’t a couple, Tony still felt like he needed the super soldier’s presence near him. He was not even going to try to pretend that it was all platonic anymore, not after the conversations they’d had over the past three weeks. It might have been the distance, or the solitude both men were experiencing, but it seemed to Tony like Steve was really trying to hint at something more. The genius, however, still had his doubts. 

He was terrified of pursuing a relationship with Steve when it had the potential of all going to hell; he was Tony Stark after all. His reflection stared back at him with a terrible weariness. His eyes had deep circles under them where he’d been unable to sleep; his goatee was in disarray as was his hair, and his shoulders were just a little slumped. Even with all of that, though, Tony still recognized the playboy he’d molded himself into for the cameras. His eyes were wide, as he’d trained himself to do, and the corners of his mouth were turned up involuntarily, giving him the barest hint of a mischievous smile. God, how he hated that fake smile sometimes even though it served him as one of his best shields in most occasions. As if on cue, Mulan’s “Reflection” started playing in the background, giving Tony the perfect track for his rather uncharacteristic introspection.

“Look at me  
You may think you see  
Who I really am,  
But you’ll never know me  
Every day  
It’s as if I play a part  
Now I see  
If I wear a mask  
I can fool the world  
But I cannot fool my heart”

Tony had to hand it to whoever wrote the stupid lyrics to those songs, they knew what they were talking about. Disregarding the cheesiness of the situation, and the song overall, Tony couldn’t deny he knew /exactly/ what the song was talking about. He’d faked his way to the top from the moment he was old enough to toddle; he’d been forced into the spotlight from a very early age, and had had to learn quickly in order to survive. He’d never been the real Tony Stark in front of the world, even when he got stupid drunk he’d been playing a part; it was the part that everyone had seemed to categorize him into from the start. How was he supposed to break through that? He’d always known, though, in some little part of his brain, that what he was doing wasn’t really what he wanted to do. Managing SI, creating the missiles, the military contracts… it was all for Obi, and his father. 

 

“I am now  
In a world where I  
Have to hide my heart  
And what I believe in”

He’d tried so goddamn hard when his father was alive to be what Howard had wanted him to be. He was an engineer, a scientist, he knew what weapons were and why they were necessary, but he’d never wanted to do that. He never wanted for that to be what SI was all about, he’d always had bigger dreams than that, but he’d always let other people lead him. in front of the press, in front of Howard, in front of Obi… he’d always hid away the part of him that wanted /more./ He’d pretended he wanted the contracts, he’d created the missiles thinking they were helping soldiers come back alive, even when all he’d wanted was to explore his options. A little part of him hated himself for being so gullible.

“There’s a heart that must be  
Free to fly  
That burns with a need to know  
The reason why…  
Why is my reflection  
Someone I don’t know  
Must I pretend that I’m  
Someone else for all time?  
When will my reflection show  
Who I am inside?”

Up until Afghanistan, Tony had let himself be lead into a path that had already been chosen for him, and he hated that. He’d bent to Howard and Obi’s big visions for him, without giving more than a brief glance and his own convictions. Before his kidnapping, he’d fooled the entire world with his stupid behavior. The drinking, the parties, the women… all of it had been Tony Stark, the acting billionaire. Nobody had ever gotten close enough to know he’d been faking all along, not until Pepper. He couldn’t really trust anybody back then and after all the crap thanks to Howard and Obi. That’s why he was so, so terrified of starting anything with Steve. He was afraid of fucking up with the man who just happened to be the most perfect human being in the entire face of the earth. 

“But somehow  
I will show the world  
What’s inside my heart  
And be loved for who I am.”

Tony hadn’t really known what it felt like to be /himself/ and be accepted for only that until he’d met Pepper. She’d given him a reason to accept what he’d been in the past, and even now that they were no longer together, he knew that Pepper didn’t begrudge him anything. Then there were the Avengers, they had helped him become more comfortable in his own skin. Ironically, it was Clint that made him feel the most comfortable. Sure, they teased and bantered with each other, but Tony knew he wasn’t been criticized or rejected in vain. Bruce understood where he was coming from, and they had hit it off quickly. Thor was very easy to get along with, he didn’t judge Tony for what he had been (Tony didn’t think he really understood the implications of the genius’s behavior, and he wasn’t going to enlighten the demigod) so they were in relatively good terms. After the Battle of Manhattan (what they’d deemed the battle with Loki) Natasha had agreed she’d judged Tony upon the act he presented and not who he really was.

And then there was Steve, the always reliable and understanding Captain. At first, he’d been that the Stark charisma and faked smiled. He had bought into Tony’s act as quickly as the Widow had, but the bullshit wasn’t enough to cloak Stark from those all seeing blue eyes. After a month or so, Rogers had started to pay more attention to the billionaire and recognized the façade for what it was. After that, Tony had been completely terrified to be around Steve. He didn’t know how to act, what to do, what if he said something offensive? The Stark bravado he had perfected no longer worked on the super soldier. 

“Just be yourself, Tony, there’s nothing wrong with that. I like you better when you're not faking it.”

He still remembered the super soldier’s words the first time they had their impromptu movie night. Tony had tried to play his nervousness off with jokes and jabs at Steve’s 40s personality, the soldier had simply smiled and let that volley lodge itself on Tony’s mind. The rest, as they say, was history. They’d gotten much closer, to the point where the other Avengers had started to speculate that they were something more, and God did Tony wanted to be. 

He looked back to his reflection in the mirror, noticing how in the course of his thoughts, he’d straightened a little. The corners of his mouth had lifted even further, but the curve was more genuine, and he recognized what he’d secretly deemed as Steve’s smile on his lips. It had taken three weeks, but he’d reached his decision. Soon, he’d be going back to New York. He was giddy with happiness at his reunion with a certain super soldier, and a little three year old.

The world, however, had other plans for him for the next week. As he made his way into the room, he heard his phone ringing. Thinking it was either Steve or Pepper, Tony asked JARVIS to take the call. He moved towards his bed, and propped his tablet up where Rhodey’s face was filling the screen.

“Hey, sugar bear,” Tony greeted the colonel with a cheeky smile. Rhodey merely rolled his eyes.

“Heard you were in town, Ton, how ya doing?” 

“I’m doing great, planning to go back to New York soon, though. What about you, honey? Thought you were stuck in the asscrack of nowhere without means of communication?”

“I’m on leave for now, you asshole. I'm in town actually, wondering if you wanted to hang out before you head back,” Rhodey grinned at Tony. Suddenly it felt like they were thirty again, planning to get into trouble. 

“Aw, babe, are you asking me out? You know you’ll have to ask my mom,” Tony batted his lashes at the screen, making the soldier laugh.

“Ask Steve, you mean,” Rhodey doubled over with laughter at Tony’s face. “I hear he’s the jealous type when it comes to you,” Tony only huffed but couldn’t help the smile that plastered itself on his face. They agreed to meet in an hour, it was only seven in Malibu after all, and then Rhodey hung up.

Well, he’d made his decision, and one more day wouldn’t hurt. He’d already decided, a certain super soldier and three years old were waiting for him in New York. For once, Tony Stark had something to look forward to.


	3. Something There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve had never expected things to turn out this way. He'd never expected the Beast he'd considered Tony Stark to be to turn into Prince Charming. Not that he's complaining, he probably would have loved him anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, hey guys! Double chapter today, woo-hoo! I have decided to make this 5 chapters because i kind of have the other two songs ready in my mind. This is super duper fluffy by the way.  
> i feel like i should be ashamed of that... but i'm not. Sooooo  
> Enjoy! :D

Steve had learned, after three nights of watching movies with Peter, that he should /never/ tell the three year old that princess movies were supposed to be for girls. Not that he had been insensitive enough to say that out loud, so luckily he hadn’t been in the receiving end of a three year old glare, but Clint had had to learn it the hard way. So, now there he was on a Friday night after four weeks of Tony’s absence with a little boy tucked into his side watching a movie called Beauty and the Beast. 

“Cappa, Tony come home now?” the little boy asked as he did almost every night that they sat down to watch movies. The first few times it happened, Peter’s voice had been so quiet and sad that he’d called Tony right away to make sure the little boy was cheered up at least a little bit. 

“No, buddy, Tony still has some things he needs to work out, but remember what he said?” Steve tried to make his voice sound as enthusiastic as possible. The boy’s enthusiasm deemed a little but he nodded vigorously at Steve’s question. “Then just wait for a little longer. If I know Tony, he’ll be home in no time.” (Please, Stark, don’t make a liar out of me. Please.)

“’Kay, Cappa, Tony come home soon and he bring me a big, big present!” Peter exclaimed loudly before settling back into Steve’s side. The super soldier laughed at the kid’s antics and tightened his arm on the little body a little. He never would have thought he would settle into a paternal role so quickly, but Peter was such an easy kid to deal with, he had virtually no problem in interacting with him. He only wished Tony were home, the little boy adored the genius. 

Peter quieted down after that, engrossed in the movie, which still kind of fascinated Steve. He’d watched these movies about four times each in the past few weeks, yet every time any of the Avengers played them for him it was as if he were watching it for the first time. Not that the captain blamed him, some of them were extremely riveting, but he still found it kind of amusing and stunning. He had been under the impression that three year olds couldn’t sit still for so long. 

Steve tried to pay attention to the movie, but his thoughts found themselves derailed to a pair of wide brown eyes and a mischievous smile. The super soldier huffed out a breath, it seemed like he could never go more than a few minutes without thinking about their resident genius. He still had a little bit of trouble processing how close the two of them had become, especially taking into account how close to hate they’d been at the beginning. They had gone for each other’s throats, and Steve still cringed at how thoughtless he’d been back there. Tony just seemed to be able to push the right buttons all the damn time! And Steve seemed to be oblivious to the hurt in Tony’s eyes whenever Steve aimed to where he /knew/ it would hurt the genius to be hit. The song from the movie momentarily jostled Steve out of his memories.

“There’s something sweet and almost kind  
But he was mean, and he was coarse,  
And unrefined  
But now he’s dear and so unsure  
I wonder why I didn’t see it there before.”

Steve had to suppress the surprised chuckle that threatened to break free from his throat, if ever he needed a track for his thoughts on Anthony Stark it seemed like Disney had it for him. The words on the song sent a pang through the super soldier as he thought of how Tony used to be before the Avengers had bonded. 

He /was/ mean at the beginning, it seemed like he had a cutting word for every member of the team, except for Bruce, at every turn. Clint couldn’t say anything without being deemed stupid, Thor was reprimanded for merely opening his mouth, Natasha had been ignored from the moment she’d moved in, and Steve… well, Steve had given back as bad as he got. He hated himself sometimes for his weakness to be so quick at yelling at Tony. He had to admit that part of the reason was because of his sudden awakening in the damn twenty-first century. 

Tony was the representation of everything that was new, and completely mystifying. He was also, unfortunately, mixed with the past. Being Howard’s son, Steve now knew, had never been easy for Anthony Stark. Steve had snapped at him for being disrespectful and cutting, without realizing that that had been /forced/ into Tony, it wasn’t something he had consciously picked up. Every day, Steve saw a little bit of the real Tony and it pained him to know that he’d had to hide all of that because of Howard. Tony had also been coarse, and with bafflement Steve had found out that it was because he didn’t know /how/ to express affection for anyone else. If he hadn’t been looking closely at the man, Steve would have thought he didn’t even try at all, but people couldn’t be more wrong.

Tony always tried his best to show people how he felt about them, but the thing was he had no idea how. The subject had come up on one of their late nights in the den, when Tony was just on the right side of tipsy and cuddly. Most importantly, he was feeling chatty. Without looking at Steve, Tony told him a little bit about his childhood with the mighty Howard Stark. The super soldier didn’t want to believe him at first, but one look at Tony and he /knew/ how deeply Howard had messed up his child. From that point on, he started looking at Tony just a little bit closer. He started paying attention at the things he did, and was both surprised and elated at finding out how much Tony actually cared. It showed in the bathtub he’d installed in Natasha’s bathroom because she’d mentioned she liked spacey tubs in passing. It showed in the renovation of one of the training centers which Tony had deemed The Nest after he fixed it up for Clint to comfortably practice. It showed in the unlimited supply of Pop tarts he had in stock for Thor. He showed it when he invited Bruce to his workshop, and when he created a lab specifically catered to the doctor’s needs. More explicitly, it showed in the way Tony looked at Steve, the way he smiled, and the way he always, and Steven means ALWAYS turned into a slightly panicked mess when the super soldier was in danger.

“New and a bit alarming  
Who’d ever thought that this could be?  
True that he’s no Prince Charming  
But there’s something in him that  
I simply didn’t see.”

Steve maneuvered a sleepy Peter so that he was lying more comfortably in the super soldier’s chest, and then went back to his thoughts. He remembered when things with Tony had turned for the better. It was the first time Tony had woken him from a nightmare, with the help of JARVIS since apparently Tony had the AI monitoring each Avenger to make sure they were as comfortable as possible. Steve had been a wreck after that, seeing Bucky and Peggy’s faces long after he was awake. Tony had come into his room and simply sat next to the soldier with a good foot of space between them. He didn’t try to hug the soldier, or touch him in any way, and most importantly he didn’t say those wretched words. He didn’t say “I’m sorry” or “It’s gonna be okay.” And Steve was grateful for that. Tony understood, so he hadn’t said anything, he’d merely talked. And the super soldier thought, “Of course, he can’t even shut up when someone’s in distress.” But found himself listening, if only to keep the panic at bay.  
“When I was in the cave,” Tony began, and he didn’t have to say what cave or explain to Steve what had happened. They’d all read the file after all. “I kept seeing faces; I thought I was going to go insane from them. Every day, I’d see Pepper smiling at me from the corner of the cave, or Rhodey rolling his eyes at me, exasperated. For a while, when I was still strapped to the battery, I was convinced I would go completely nuts in there. Yinsen, the guy that saved me, had to wake me up to stop me from tearing the cables out of my chest a few times. I couldn’t stop them from happening though, and if I focused too much in them well I…” Tony had swallowed thickly, and brushed his hair back with shaking fingers. Steve had watched fascinated as the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist was stripped down to just Tony. “I would have crumbled, I wouldn’t have gotten out of there alive and I would have brought down a lot of people with me. 

“So I channeled it in a different direction, I concentrated on their faces not to think of what I was convinced I had lost, but on what I had to gain. I used them to get me out of that cave.” The man turned to give Steve a little smile, and he was a little embarrassed to admit that that had been it for him. He had been gone from then. “After that, when the whole thing with Obi and all the other stupid villains happened, I… well, I used those nightmares to fuel me to fight the next foe. What I'm trying to say,” he said a little embarrassed, and Steve couldn’t help but think he looked beautiful with that blush on his cheeks. “Is that you can’t let Bucky or whoever else is in your dreams, bring you down. I'm sure they wouldn’t have liked that, they would have wanted you to live, for them, not to simply survive.”

Steve had seen Tony in a whole different light from then on, and he had steadily fallen in love with the man little by little. He couldn't deny now that the Tony Stark that the world knew was just a front. The real Tony was amazing, beautiful, sweet, and everything Steve could have wanted. 

His phone went off, and he jostled around a little in order to get it, but not wake Peter who had fallen asleep on his chest. Successful at last, Steve tapped the little device and smiled as Tony’s name flashed on his screen below an unopened envelope. He opened the text message, and felt as if his heart was going to burst out of his chest.

From: Tony G.B.P.P Stark  
To: Steve  
Be home in a few hours. Don’t tell the squirt; want it to be a surprise. See you soon. Good night, Cappa 

“It’s so peculiar, wait and see…  
Wait and see,  
There may be something there  
That wasn't there before.”

With the lyrics from Peter’s movie, the soldier settled himself a little lower on the couch and wrapped an arm around the little boy on his chest. Tony would be home soon, and then he’ll tell him. He had to; there was something on his chest that wouldn’t quiet down until Tony knew /exactly/ how Steve felt. He just prayed that genius’s insecurities didn't get between them.


	4. Kiss the Girl (Er, Boy)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's back home. He'd always abhorred domesticity, but now he thinks maybe it's not so bad. Steve's dying to show him just how blissful family life can be. and so is Peter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major. Fluff. Fest, i'm telling you guys. it'll make you want to puke rainbows! haha, so almost done with this! yay! i honestly how i will make the next one FLUFFIER, because it has to be, but i'll try my best. For now, enjoy!

After four weeks of absence, Tony was ready to return to his tower. He had to admit that the time he had been away was actually spent in a positive way. Before Afghanistan, Tony had used his little escapades to get even more pissed and add notches to his belt that didn’t fit anymore. Now, though, his time had been spent in a more positive way. He’d reached a conclusion, and although his palms still sweated at the thought of it, he knew that he’d done the right thing. He was still slightly panicked, and the thought of everything that could go wrong still made him want to vomit, but he’d made a decision. And when Tony Stark made a decision, he followed it with a tunnel vision and determination that could make even Captain America jealous. 

It hadn’t been easy, though, and it had required intense “therapy” from his two closest and oldest friends. Pepper had been the first one to sit him down, and continuously over the four weeks he’d spent in Malibu, proceeded to berate and plead with him to just “tell the man you're head over heels for him already! The worst he could say is no!” which just happened to be the worst thing she could have ever said because, hello, Tony didn’t want to be rejected by Steve. If the epitome of forgiveness, and acceptance, and understanding didn’t want him then, fuck, maybe Tony ought to just take the reactor out and put himself and the rest of the world out of his misery. She had proceeded to cuff him over the head and give him her mighty Pepper glare, then proceeded to tell him all the stupid flaws in his logic, let him stew over that in the Malibu workshop for a couple days, then be at it again. Tony was now conditioned to want to beat himself whenever he started getting pessimistic. It wasn’t the ideal system, but it’d gotten Stark over his initial doubts and he supposes that was the whole point of the exercise.

Surprisingly, the next to appeal to him about Steve were the Avengers with a little side of JARVIS. Well, his AI had been first but that wasn’t the point. The computer program had analyzed and categorized every meaningful look between the genius and the soldier, every time either of their hearts had accelerated in each other’s presence, each time they’d been worried sick about the other, and every time they’d secretly talked about the other to themselves in the confines of their rooms. Tony had to admit the data was quite impressive, and he was non-too graciously happy about the fact that it seemed Steve’s and Tony’s numbers matched in those graphs and charts. Stark had also received calls from the other Avengers to “inform” him about life back at the tower, most of it only detailing little things about the super soldier and the little baby boy that now inhabited the mansion.

“Steve’s doing fine, and so is Peter. He still asks about you every day though, maybe you should consider coming back soon?” as always, Banner’s voice had been quiet and subdued, but the message had gotten to Tony loud and clear. He’d always liked the other scientist, and really the Hulk thing was really cool, so he understood that the other man had been trying to help, but still he refused to even consider the option of a romantic relationship with the captain. So, Banner being Banner, cut through his shit quickly and told him in no uncertain terms that “Steve missed him too, the nightmares may come back to haunt him again.” which just made Tony feel awful, and may have pushed him to finally begin to consider that relationship again. 

“Yeah, man, everything’s cool here. Little P and I are—“he was cut off by the off-key voice of an enthusiastic three year old as he sang about making a man out of the archer. Tony had doubled over in laughter until tears leaked out of his eyes. “Peter, Jesus Christ kid, inside voices! What did Cappa say about inside voices?! I swear, Stark, your kid is even worse at listening to Steve than you are, sometimes.

“That’s not true, and you know that. He loves his… wait, did you just call him my kid?!”

“Wondered how long it’d take you,” Tony could hear the smirk in Legolas’s voice. “You’ve gotta admit You and Steve make some pretty great parents. If Peter’s attachment to you is anything to go by.” That had been the one and only time Barton had managed to make the genius speechless.

“You're coming home soon right? We can’t deal with Cap’s moping anymore,” Natasha had been the one to call the next time. She’d sounded as aloof and disinterested as always, but Tony could detect the amusement in her voice. It was one of the perks of boding with his team mates, at least now he didn’t fear for his life every time she opened her mouth.

“Ugh, really, you too? Jesus, yes, I'm coming back home! Please, stop already!” 

“Brother Tony! Shall you return soon? The good Captain and the Midgardian child are most put out with the lack of your presence!” This is pretty self explanatory, and it is needless to say the rest of the conversation had gone the same way most conversations with Thor went.

After that he’d had some peace, until the call from Rhodey. The colonel had been in Tony’s mansion within forty minutes, a box of pizza in one hand a six pack of their favorite beer in the other. Not that Tony needed something as mundane as beer when he had perfect liquor at his disposal, but this was tradition between them. He also knew the other man wouldn’t let him even sniff the alcohol until he was through with Tony. So they sat on the floor in front of the massive TV like they used to do in their college days when the apartment had been way smaller and their lives a heck of a lot less complicated. With Rhodey it didn’t matter what Tony talked about, the other man’s rationality and calm always steered him in the right direction. The matter with Steve hadn’t been an exception. The military man had prowled through to the root of the problem, and with his most understanding smile had finally given Tony that shove he’d needed.

“Steve isn’t your dad, Tony. I feel bad for saying this, but your old man was an asshole and he doesn’t deserve you sabotaging your life because of all the shit he said to you. Steve understands you, Tony, and from what I hear he /knows/ you, if not as much perhaps even more than I do. Don’t do yourself, and more importantly him, a disservice by rejecting this opportunity. If anyone can make you happy, it’s him. I haven’t seen you this… light and carefree in ages!”

They’d finished their pizza and beer and by the end of the night, Tony was ready to return to New York. Of course, Rhodey’s company hadn’t come without a price. Apparently some companies wanted to talk to him, and War Machine was in need of an update. No matter, he’d be home soon enough. 

******************  
Steven Grant Rogers was by no means a romantic man, at least not by his own opinion. He’d been told by Peggy and Bucky that he was, but he’d never considered himself to be one. Then again, Steve had never been in love like this before. And he kept getting that silly grin on his face whenever he thought about it. The first time Peter had pointed it out, in front of the team, he’d been extremely embarrassed. There was no way he could deny what he was feeling though, so he decided to ignore the others.  
The night of Tony’s text, Steve had carried Peter to his room after dozing lightly in the couch. He’d tucked them under the covers and had put a hand on Peter’s stomach, just to feel him there. Sure, the kid had his own bed and his own room, but that night he’d wanted to sleep with the little boy. For some reason, he felt as if baby Peter was a connection between himself and Tony; it was something they both cared deeply for. And seeing as, after some research conducted by Dr. Banner, the changed seemed to be permanent, he’d have to get used to being around the little boy. He’d been appointed surrogate father of the little man, and he found himself in complete agreement with that decision even when he hadn’t even voiced his opinion before he’d found himself with documents stating Peter was, in fact, under his care. 

The next morning, Peter had been grumpy and down because in the course of the week he’d asked for Tony and he’d been given the same answer every time. He’d had to bite his lip to keep himself from telling the little boy that his “mister” was coming home that day. The baby boy cheered up soon enough, and spent most of the day with “Uncle Hawky” while Steve finalized the documentation to legally keep Peter in the tower. He’d been home all of forty six minutes, which mostly were used to take a long, hot soak in his huge bathroom, before he’d been dragged into the den for an impromptu Avengers movie night. He looked carefully at each of his teammates, family really, and realized that they /knew./

He tried not to laugh in delight and alert Peter, but he was glad they were all there. Tony might claim that he despised domesticity but he’d actually called for a movie night the day he got home. He would probably be tired as a dog, but he still wanted to spend time with them. It just gave Steve another reason to want the genius, his genius if he had any say in it in the next few hours. He settled himself in his usual spot on the couch, with Peter sitting on his lap with his little legs tucked between the soldier’s legs. Soon after the movie started, Steve’s super hearing picked up the threading of feet on the carpeted floor of the hallway. He looked at the clock, seven p.m., and hid his smile in the little boy’s hair. 

“What is this?!” Tony exclaimed from the doorway in mock outrage. Steve turned around to see him with a huge smile on his face, wearing an old band t-shirt and well-work jeans. He noticed his shoeless feet as he got a little closer. “You’re having movie night without me?!” he clutched at his reactor.

“Toneeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Peter screamed in delight, ignoring Steve completely as he clambered down from the super soldier’s knee and ran directly at Tony. The team laughed as Tony made a little “oof” sound when the little projectile knocked against his knees. “Tony, you here! You here! Tony! Cappa say you don’t come home till later! But you here!”

Tony laughed and looked up at Steve, the super soldier had the ridiculous urge to fan his face when the genius smirked and winked at him. They both turned their attention to the little boy as he began to detail what he’d done in the past weeks. “And then,” he said completely unconcerned as Tony picked him up and carried him to the couch again. Steve, subtly, stretched his arm across the back of the sofa as Tony settled down and placed the kid on his legs. He might not have been as subtle as he wanted seeing as Tony smirked at him again and the team laughed. JARVIS had been kind enough to pause the movie without prompting. “Uncle Hawky teach me how to jump really high! And Aunty Tash teach me Dussian but I forgot, and then—“

“Why don’t you tell Tony about all that tomorrow, Little P?” Hawkeye suggested with a smile. “Don’t you want to watch the rest of the movie?”

“Tony be here tomorrow?” the little boy asked with a hopefulness that made the genius’s heart constrict. Damn, he’d been away too long. He doubted he’d leave the damn tower for at least three months. 

“I'm here for good, kiddo,” he said and looked up at the man sitting beside him. Steve gave him a satisfied smile. 

“Yay! Tony stay home with Peter and Cappa!” Peter cheered and patted Tony’s reactor. The kid loved that thing; it’d helped him through his nightmares. The genius couldn’t resist the urge to cuddle the kid a little closer. Peter agreed to resume their movie, and everyone settled down to continue watching except for the two soon-to-be lovers on the couch. The rest of the team noticed as they increased the time between the glances they shared, and how they were leaning closer against each other. 

Clint was the first to notice it, and he coughed into his hand to mask the laugh that was threatening to break free. Nat turned to give him an amused stare and he nodded at the pair in the couch, she cracked a smirk at the closeness between the two men. From the other side of the couch, Bruce noticed their stares and also became aware of the sudden romantic pheromones in the air. He smiled, pleased, before firing a quick text at the other two. He was glad Thor wasn’t home; he’d have broken the easiness in which the events were unfolding, good naturally of course. 

From: Bruce Banner  
How soon do you think it’ll happen?

From: Clint Barton  
They’re practically undressing each other with a three year old between them. I give them about three minutes.

From: Natasha Romanoff  
I doubt it. They’re idiots, remember? They’re probably still denying the UST (she pointed this with a roll of her eyes at the men. They all smiled.)

From: Bruce Banner  
Care to help them along?

From: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff  
You bet.

So, that is how a few minutes later, three of Earth’s Mightiest heroes found themselves singing the lyrics to a Disney song to inspire another two heroes to finally make a move and cement their relationship. This, of course, required finesse and subtlety. So they had to wait until the right moment, which presented itself in the form of a little row around a lake with a certain Prince Eric trying to woo Ariel. This provided the perfect moment to start singing along, without alerting their teammates, as all they needed to do was sing the chorus. 

“There you see her  
Sitting there across the way  
She don’t got a lot to say  
But there’s something about her  
And you don’t know why  
But you're dying to try  
You gotta kiss the girl”

Steve had made the first move, it was a very small movement towards Tony, but he’d done it. His arm seemed to drop just a little so that it was now more or less resting over the genius’s shoulders. This prompted the other man to shoot a quick glance upwards a make a little movement of his own. 

“Yes, you want her  
Look at her, you know you do  
It’s possible she wants you too (Fuck, did he ever, Tony thought, barely paying attention to the movie, much more interested in Steve’s movements. Waging how much longer it’d take.)  
There’s one way to ask her  
It don’t take a word, not a single word (Good, because Steve wouldn’t even know what to say.)  
Go on and kiss the girl”

They both leaned a little further into each other, the other three avengers continued to murmur the lyrics, subtly egging them on. Tony moved an oblivious Peter who was singing slightly louder, to his other knee to have nothing impeding Steve’s small advances. He bit his lip, he really wanted to kiss him now!

“My oh my  
Looks like the boy’s too shy  
Ain’t gonna kiss the girl  
Ain’t that sad  
It’s such a shame  
Too bad, you're gonna miss the girl  
Go on and kiss the girl”

Steve’s arm was properly hugging Tony’s shoulders now, and he flexed his fingers to give him a little nudge in his direction. The genius turned his head to look at the soldier, a little smile playing on his lips. He snuggled a little closer into the warmth, Steve’s breath hitched.

“Nows your moment  
Floating in a blue lagoon  
Boy, you better do it soon  
No time will be better  
And she won’t say a word  
Until you kiss the girl!” 

The other three Avengers sung that with a little too much vigor, but it seemed that they’d gotten their points across. Steve was pulling Tony closer now, his head slanting to the left while Tony went the opposite direction. Tony leaned forward, and Steve felt his eyes shuttering close. He could feel the other man’s breath, minty and irresistible; he was so close… when Tony let out a little puff of breath and a low chuckle. The other three adults in the room groaned and hung their heads.

Peter had turned around and was looking at them with something between curiosity and bafflement. Tony regrettably leaned backwards, while Steve did the same letting out a loud exhaled. The little boy shook his head, as if dispelling what had just happened, and turned his attention to the genius. The older man smiled at the little one and waited for the question he knew was following.

“Tony, are you gonna be my daddy?” the kid let the bomb drop like it was no big deal. Tony felt his breath hitch. He hadn’t even thought about that, being a father… well, it was huge responsibility. He was starting to panic when he felt a warm, strong hand in the back of his neck. He looked up at Steve who was giving him an encouraging smile.

Sighing loudly, he looked down at the little human being in his arms. He’d been away for about five weeks, and it had almost ripped him apart. He’d worried about the boy, he’d dreaded each day, rejoiced in each call… he was so invested in that little life, it should have scared him, but it didn’t. With some surprise he realized he already loved the little kid as if he were his flesh and blood. Trying not to tear up like a first time mother, he kissed the boy’s head. “Yeah, Pete, I can be your new daddy,” he said softly. The smile the boy gave him made him feel like he’d reached Nirvana.

“I love you, daddy!” Peter declared before hugging Tony and then turning back at the movie.

And if Tony’s eyes moistened a little bit, well, nobody could fault him. he’d just become a father after all. The other Avengers turned back to the movie, still disappointed about the near kiss but delighted in what they had witnessed. Steve’s own eyes were wet with tears, and he pulled Tony to him unthinkingly. He had a horrible moment of panic thinking the other man would pull away, but Tony just settled against him and leaned his head on his shoulder. On a bold impulse, Steve leaned down to kiss the top of the genius’s head. 

That’s how Tony spent his first day back at the tower, and if that’s how the rest of his days around the little man and Steve were going to be, he would have to admit he finally understood what was so good about domesticity. Now, all they had to do was talk about that minor problem. He had to ask Steve out on a date, maybe even ask him to marry him… but he’ll consider that later. For the moment, he was basking in the contentment of new parenthood.


	5. And at Last I See the Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony was finally part of something that was worth fighting for. Steve had finally gotten where he was supposed to go. And they couldn't be happier about where they were. This was their world, their family, their future... this was the beginning of something they had only hoped for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! So here's the last chapter of this super fluff fest! God, i cannot thank you guys enough for the support and the kudos and such. You've really humbled me and like made me squeal in happiness haha. It's been great to write this, finally letting the romantic in me shine, and i hope you've had fun too. now, without further ado, the culmination of this fic. Or, as i like to think about it, the beginning of their future :)

Tony had been back for a week, and his relationship with Steve hadn’t made any substantial progress. Other than the cuddling in the house, and the occasional hand holding there was nothing that marked them as a definite couple. And of course there was Peter, raising him together ought to count right? But Tony wanted more, much more. That, however, didn’t seem to be going anywhere because Captain America and Iron Man seemed to be raising the biggest cockblocker in the world. 

Whenever Tony tried to make a move towards the Captain it seemed that Peter was always there to take his Cappa away. It wasn’t that the kid did it with any sort of malice, and the genius was never more than slightly irritated, but it was getting ridiculous. Clint had started to claim Tony’s usually short temper on sexual frustration. Which he did not have, dammit, he could go an unlimited amount of time without sex, but he did want it with Steve. God, did he want to make love with the other man. And since when did he think about it as making love and now a quick release? Steve had changed him in so many ways. He so needed to find a way to get Steve alone, or at least get a goddamn kiss from the other man. That might be enough to make him last for another month. 

Tony interrupted his lecherous thoughts about Captain America when JARVIS informed him of a visitor approaching the workshop. He put the blowtorch down, and did a quick look-around to make sure nothing sharp was in close vicinity to where he was sitting. When you were raising such a smart, active three year old you kind of learned to make the cursory security check. The door swooshed open, and tiny feet made their way to where Tony was sitting. He pretended he hadn’t heard as always, and waited for his (and God, it still gave him heart palpitations when he thought about the baby boy that way) little man to try to get his attention. 

He felt something soft touch his back, but pretended he didn’t feel it. It was a game the little boy had going on with his new daddy, he’d come to the workshop and come up with new ways to get the genius’s attention. The most impressive one had been when he’d somehow managed to make Dummy douse Tony in fire extinguisher foam. Steve still chuckled at the memory. This time though, there was another little nudge against his back and a high pitch giggle that immediately put a smile on Tony’s face. Sweet Jesus, he loved that kid more than anything. He thought he loved him more than he loved Steve himself, but something told the genius that the super soldier wouldn’t mind much. 

“Daddy!” Peter called and gave another nudge but this time it felt distinctly like a human finger, albeit a small human finger. Tony made a show of jumping and turning around to look at the little boy with mock surprise. The little boy giggled again, his hand was clutching a little Iron Man plush toy that Tony thought was called a Pop! 

“Hey, buddy, what’s up?” he couldn’t resist the urge to pick Peter up and settle him on his lap. It was also instinct to nuzzle the back of the kid’s neck, causing him to erupt into giggles as the genius’s facial hair tickled his sensitive baby skin. 

“Cappa say you come eat with us! He say Uncle Jahvis show us Tan-Tan-Tannel!” the little boy tried to explain. The older man chuckled at the baby speech, still surprised at himself for not finding it annoying. He was sure that in any other baby he wouldn’t be able to stand it, but this was Peter, and Peter had always been special. Even before when they hadn’t really interacted much. 

“Okay, kiddo, let’s go see what your Cappa made for us,” he threw a giggling Peter in the air before setting him down and taking his hand. it barely registered in Tony’s mind that he hadn’t even thought about it twice before taking the boy to eat. Seriously, those two were corrupting him. 

******* 

Steve had already set everything up in the den when he heard familiar footsteps approaching the room. He’d strategically set up blankets and pillows on the floor with the couch functioning as a back rest. If everything went according to plan and it better seeing as Steve was a wonderful planner, Peter would be exhausted halfway through the movie and fall asleep on the blankets. Then Steve could set up to achieve his objective, and he’d finally be getting that first kiss he’d been waiting for since forever. He smiled to himself as Peter’s baby voice reached his ears; it seemed his two favorite men were having an good natured argument. 

“No way, little one, Cappa’s could totally kick Superman's butt!” Tony exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm. Steve snorted, he’d had the same argument with the genius back when they hadn’t really been friends only then Tony had been claiming he could kick Captain America's butt, which, if he thought about it, said a lot about their relationship. Thinking back on it, he didn’t even know why he had continued the argument seeing as a) Tony had done it just to push his buttons and b) Superman was fictional. He shook his head at a memory he now held as fond. 

“Daddy! Cappa not strong like Superman! Superman fly like this!” and then the little man barreled into the den with his arms spread and making swishing noises. He giggled when he saw Steve and made his way to where the super soldier was sitting. Steve smiled brightly when the little boy reached him and gave him a tight hug. 

“Steve,” Tony said as he sat down next to the Captain, taking a can of soda and opening it. There was a warmth in Tony’s voice that made the soldier’s heart kick into third gear. He smiled brightly at the engineer.

“Tony,” he greeted the other man. He couldn’t help the way his voice caressed the name. Tony smiled a little at him, and honest to God got a slight blush on his cheeks. Of course Tony would flush at something like compliments and affection. 

Before the atmosphere could become charged with romantic electricity, Peter tugged at Steve’s sleeve to get his attention. He could see Tony exhaling and shaking his head, and Steve couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him. Peter seemed to have a knack for interrupting their attempts at kissing or doing anything more than hand holding. The soldier had the nagging suspicion that Barton had been teaching their boy how to interrupt them just for the sake of amusement. 

“We watch Tannel now, Cappa?” Peter asked him as he stuffed his mouth with the cut up sandwich Steve had put on a special plate for the little boy. The plate had a picture of Steve’s shield in it while the sippy cup with his juice had a caricature version of the reactor. He looked at Steve with those big brown eyes that made the soldier unable to stop himself from brushing the little boy’s cheek. 

“Tangled, buddy. And yeah, if your daddy’s ready,” Steve’s eyes locked with amused brown ones as the genius nodded. They both got closer to snuggled against one another, trying to make it seem accidental but the only one who was fooled was Peter. The little boy moved to his preferred spot between Tony’s legs and they began to watch the movie. Well, at least Pete watched the movie; the two men were trying to think of a way to sneak a kiss sometime before the night ended. 

By the time Rapunzel and Flynn had reached the kingdom, their little boy had dozed off. Tony moved him cautiously so he was lying down completely in the blankets with a little pillow under his head and his Iron Man “plush-plush” clutched against his chest while the Captain America one lay somewhere nearby. Tony brushed the brown waves back from his forehead and then moved back to where the super soldier waited. 

They could have stopped the kiddy movie and watched something else, but they’ve both gotten so used to them thanks to Peter. Not only did they find them fun and entertaining now, but they also found comfort and a certain sense of home when they were watching them. Tony laid his head against the soldier’s shoulder when Steve tried to perform the yawn-and-stretch move. He was sending such a strong aura of smugness and pride after the genius snuggled into him that Tony didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d seen right through that one. 

The atmosphere quickly changed when the scene with the lanterns appeared on screen. Tony had never bought into the whole taking-a-date-to-watch-a-romantic movie nonsense, there was no way a movie could affect their mood, but now? Now he had to admit that maybe he had been wrong. Why did it seem that every Disney song applied to them?

“All those days, watching from a window  
All those years, outside looking in  
All that time, never even knowing  
Just how blind I’d been  
Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight  
Now I'm here, suddenly I see  
Standing here, it’s all so clear  
I'm where I'm meant to be.”

All his life, Anthony Stark had had to pretend he was okay with the way people treated him, with the assumptions other made, with the decisions taken for him. now, though, thanks to his Captain and the rest of his gratefully dysfunctional Avengers family, he could see just how much of an outsider he had been before. He hadn’t really had a purpose before they assembled. Sure, Afghanistan had provided a glimpse of everything he could be, but it was the Avengers who had truly allowed him to explore his potential. Now, snuggling against what he could easily say was the love of his life, Tony knew that he had finally reached completion. Thank fuck for that.

“All those days, chasing down a daydream  
All those years living in a blur  
All that time, never truly seeing  
Things, the way they were  
Now (he’s) here shining in the starlight  
Now (he’s) here, suddenly I know  
If (he’s) here, it’s crystal clear  
I'm where I'm meant to go.”

Steven Rogers had never really found his purpose in life, not until he’d woken up on the twenty-first century and had been forced into a group of super heroes. Before the serum, he’d worked on simply surviving. Between his weaknesses and his mother’s necessities, Steve had never had time to think about the bigger picture. He’d never thought about the potential he had to reach for something more. During the war, all he’d wanted was to pay what he thought was his due to the country. He’d never really thought about the war in terms of glory, it was just something he thought he had to do. He hadn’t been looking for happiness or any sort of companionship. Sure, Bucky, Peggy and the Commandoes had given him all that, but he hadn’t thought about anything past the next mission.

With the Avengers, at the beginning, it had been pretty much the same thing. He was in a sort of platoon again, the foes and tactics were different but the anticipated outcome had been the same, work together to reach their goal. He never had imagined that these heroes, these people, would make him see everything he could have. Now, he had a great group of people he considered his family, and he was so, so close to having a family of his own. God, he had been given a second chance to find the love of his life and a perfect child. He’d be a fool not to take it, and Steve had never been that stupid. 

“And at last I see the light  
And it’s like the fog has lifted  
And at last I see the light  
And it’s like the sky is new  
And it’s warm and real and bright  
And the world has somehow shifted  
All at once, everything looks different  
Now that I see you.”

They both turned to each other as if reading the other’s thoughts. Their eyes locked, Steve was left breathless with the utter love he saw in Tony’s eyes. Tony, for his part, felt as if his reactor had stopped for a second and started functioning again. What he had considered an impossibility suddenly became a reality, Steve wanted him! Not for his money, or for being Iron Man, or for Howard, no, Steve wanted him for himself. Steven Rogers wanted Tony Stark for himself, not for anything else. He wanted to scream it from the top of his tower, but for now he had other plans. 

Of course Tony was the one to make the first move; he turned so that his front was flush against Steve’s side and turned the soldier’s head with a hand on his cheek. He gave Steve time to pull back, to regret, to reconsider, but the soldier just smiled a sweet and lovely smile and began to lean closer. About halfway there, both pairs of eyes closed and in the next second their lips were meeting for the first time. Tony’s lips were soft, and warm, and just so perfect. Steve’s were a little cool, smooth, and everything the genius had ever dreamed they would be. Steve turned so that they were now chest to chest and framed the other man’s face with his hands, his fingers playing and mussing Tony’s hair. they lost track of time, the song that they would forever consider their song even when Peter was older and didn’t watch the movies as much anymore kept playing in the background. 

When they pulled back, Steve was smiling the biggest smile he’d ever had. Not Peggy, not Bucky, nobody had made him this happy in his entire life. Tony could count on his fingers how many people really mattered to him, and Steve easily topped that list. And God, that smile the soldier was leveling at him, Tony would do anything to see that for the rest of his life. His heart wrenched sideways as he realized he was pretty much in this forever. Steve seemed to be having the same epiphany as in the next second their lips were meeting again. This one was definitely more heated, Tony clutching at the front of Steve’s shirt and a low moan escaped the back of his throat. They were both too busy exploring each other’s mouths with their tongues to notice that a three year old was witnessing the historical act. Until said toddler gasped in surprise and squealed.

Steve pulled back jerkily at the sound, Tony chased his mouth only to end up with his forehead pressed against the super soldier’s chest. He laughed breathlessly at the ridiculousness of the situation, but that was okay. He wouldn’t change it for the world.

“Cappa is my papa! Cappa is my papa!” Peter chanted as he threw himself between them, snuggling with his parents. And they might as well call themselves Peter’s parents because there was no way they were giving their little boy, or each other up.

Steve chuckled, laying back on the blankets and turning on his side. He looked at Tony, and the other man did the same, sandwiching Peter between them. The soldier used his long arms to wrap his little family up safe and secured. Within minutes, the loves of his life were asleep in his embrace, and he could feel sleep calling him. He might have woken up seventy years after his time, he might have missed out on a lot, but even though the world may have shifted under his feet he now knew this was where he was meant to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I write like an epilogue, or deleted scenes or something? Yes, no?


End file.
